His marionette performances were featured in 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks,' 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and 'A Star Is Born' Bob Baker — the legendary puppeteer of stage and screen, and co-founder of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, the oldest and longest running children’s theater company in Los Angeles and in the world — died Friday of natural causes. He was 90. Baker, who started the theater with his partner Alton Wood in 1963, had his performances featured in films including Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the 1954 version of A Star Is Born with Judy Garland, as well as many TV shows and commercials. He also served as governor of both the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and of the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, in the animation division, and was an animation advisor to many film studios. Read more http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-baker-dead-legendary-la-752779
